Fact Check: Did Pam Bondi win a legal battle against transgender swimmer Lia Thomas?
WASHINGTON, DC: A rumor has been going around that US Attorney General Pam Bondi won a legal battle against Lia Thomas, the transgender swimmer who made headlines in 2022 for becoming the first openly trans athlete to win an NCAA Division I championship.
It all started on June 12 when one Facebook page posted, "OH MY GOD! Pam Bondi has won her legal battle against Lia Thomas and will not have a chance to qualify for the Olympics, marking a huge victory for women's sport and facing the heaviest penalty in sports history for cheating."
The post, which racked up more than 44,000 reactions, shared a link to a sketchy WordPress blog filled with ads.
The article declared, “In a surprising turn of events, Pam Bondi has achieved a significant legal victory in her fight against Lia Thomas, the transgender swimmer who has been the subject of controversy in the sports world. The court's decision not only means that Thomas will not have the opportunity to qualify for the Olympics, but also marks a milestone in the history of women's sport, sparking intense debate about equity, inclusion, and the rules governing sports competitions.”
The blog painted the alleged Bondi-vs-Thomas courtroom showdown as a bigger battle over fairness in sports.
“The battle between Bondi and Thomas has been emblematic of the growing tension surrounding the participation of transgender athletes in women's sports. While many advocate for inclusion and the right of all athletes to compete in their appropriate category, others, like Bondi, argue that this may put cisgender women at a disadvantage. The court's recent decision, which has been greeted with jubilation by some and outrage by others, raises fundamental questions about equity in sports," it said.
It didn't take long for the rumor to spread on other social platforms like Threads, X (formerly Twitter), and even more Facebook posts.
Fact Check: False
Despite the claims, no credible news outlets reported anything about a legal fight between Pam Bondi and Lia Thomas.
Searches across Bing, DuckDuckGo, Google, and Yahoo all came up empty. Not even political blogs had anything to say.
In truth, there was no court case, Snopes confirmed.
While the Bondi-Thomas rumor was fake, there have been some real developments in Washington with regards to transgender athletes.
Back in February, President Donald Trump signed a controversial executive order called "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports." ESPN reported that it officially bans transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports.
“With this executive order, the war on women’s sports is over,” Trump declared during the signing ceremony.
The order gives sweeping powers to federal agencies—including the Justice and Education departments—to make sure schools and organizations receiving federal funding follow the administration’s definition of sex, meaning the gender someone was assigned at birth.
More on Donald Trump's executive order
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said “[the order] upholds the promise of Title IX” and promised it would prompt “immediate action, including enforcement actions, against schools and athletic associations” that don’t comply with single-sex sports and locker room policies.
The timing of the executive order seemed deliberate, as it came on National Girls and Women in Sports Day—aligning with Trump’s broader efforts to placate voters who feel that transgender rights in sports have gone too far.
According to AP VoteCast, more than half of voters believed that support for transgender rights had crossed a line. Trump repeatedly vowed to end what he called the “transgender insanity,” albeit he didn’t get into many specifics during the campaign.
But the executive order did offer some clarity. The Education Department can now penalize schools that allow transgender athletes to compete, claiming they’re out of compliance with Title IX. Schools that violate the order could even lose federal funding.
